Hook and eye.



No. 726,888. PATENTED MAY 5, l903.. J. W. EDGERTON HOOK AND EYE.

APPLICATION FILED 90T.I11, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

m: nanars man: w. ruouwo., wAsmksYun o. c.

no. 726,88s.

Nrrnn STATES 'Patented lVIay v5, 1903.

ATENT QFFICE.

JOSEPH W. EDGERTON, lOF GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA.

HooK AND EYE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,888, dated May 5, 1903.

Application tiled October l1, 1902. Serial No. 1261889. (No model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. EDGERTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Island, in the county of Hall and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Hook and Eye, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hooks and eyes.

The object of the invention is to present a hook and eye in which the parts may readily and without difficulty be engaged and disengaged and which when engaged will be positively held `against disconnection no matter what position may be assumed by the body of the wearer.

The hook and eye of the present invention is comparatively iiat and may be used in connection with tight-tting garments without pressing into the iesh or producing raised portions of the garment, which are unsightly and soon become threadbare. When-used in connection with loose-fitting garments, the elements cannot become accidentally disengaged no matter at what angle the complementary parts may be turned, the fastening as a Whole being strong and durable and of such construction that those portions subject to and receiving the greatest wear and strain are reinforced and interlocked at those points.

With the above-stated and other objectsin View, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of a hook and eye, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed'.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts, there are illustrated two forms of embodiment of invention, each capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the elements thereinexhibited may be variedor changed as to shape, proportion, and exact manner of assemblage without departing from the spirit thereof, and in these drawings- Figure 1 is a view in perspective of one form of embodiment of the invention, showing the position of the parts when they are in locked engagement with each other. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the position assumed by the members of the hook when the hook and eye are to be disconnected. Fig. 3 is an edge View. Fig. 4 is a view in plan of a slightly-modified form of construction.

Referring to the drawings .and to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 thereof, l designates generally the hook, and 2 the eye. The hook is constructed of a single piece of metal, preferably of wire, the free terminals of which are bent to form attaching-loops 3, which may be circular, as shown, or otherwise contoured. The

wire adjacent to the loops is bent outward to form outward shoulders or projections 4,

Ythence bent inward toward each other, as at 5, thence downward and outward to present eye-engaging bends 6, thence inward at converging angles to present lateral jaws 7, dis- -posed beneath and approximately of the same contour as the shoulders 4, thence forward approximately 'parallel with eachother to present bills 8, thence rearward to present eye engaging bends or loops 9, and

thence into a tongue comprising two members 10, terminating in a bend 11, constituting a securing-loop.

The eye 2 is constructed with a straight nose 12, terminating in rounded terminals 13, the side members of the eye being bent to converge toward the other and then formed into attaching-loops 14.

When thel hook and eye are in locked engagement, as shown in Fig. 1, the bends 6 engage the bends 13 of the nose and the jaws 7 project laterallybeyond the end bends 13, so that any movement toward each other of the members will not result in their accidental disconnection, as they will be positively locked thereagainst. To facilitate interlocking of the bills with the nose, the latter is upturned, as shown at 15 in Fig. 3, and to insure a stable connection between the parts and to reduce liability of accidental separation in use to a minimum the-terminals ofthe bills are upturned, as shown at 16 in Fig. 3. By this arrangement it will be seen that not only is the `proper operative nection between the parts secured, but by the upturning of the nose. and the bills the structure is rendered practically flat, so that it will not press into the i'leshof the user, with resulting discomfort, nor will it canse' portions of the garmentto protrude, and thus rapidly become threadbare. The upturned IOO terminals of the nose-engaging bills being connected by the intermediate members 10 11, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, greatly strengthens the structure of the hook.

In the form of embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4 the eye is constructed in the same manner as that shown in Figs. l and 3. There is a dilerence, however, in the construction of the hook, the same underlying principle, however, being common to both. In the latter form of embodiment of the invention the bends 9 are dispensed with, and the terminals of the wire are bent over against the sides of the jaws 17, as shown at 18. When the hook is constructed in this manner, the attaching-loops 19 do not terminate with the shanks 2O of the jaw-carrying member, but are connected by a length of Wire 21,disposed beneath the two members 20.

In engaging the hook with the eye it will be only necessary to introduce the bills over the nose and draw on the hook, when the angular sides of the jaws by contacting with the bends 13 of the eye will cause the jaws to be projected toward each other, and thus enter the hook, after which they spring laterally to interlock the bends 6 with the bends 13. To disconnect the hook and eye, the elements may be separated by simply bending inward at the terminal of each one but where the garment is tight-fitting this will be impractical, and to obviate this the shoulders 4 are provided to be engaged by the fingers to ei'ect compression of lthe jaws, as shown in Fig. 2, thus to permit of their disconnection from the hook.

The device of this invention is exceedingly simple in construction, may be readily manufactured, and will be found in a simple and practical manner to obviate many defects heretofore inherent in devices of this character.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is Y l. A garment-fastener comprising an eye having attaching-loops and a straight upturned nose provided with bent terminals, and a hook having terminal attaching-loops, underturned nose-engaging bills provided with upturned terminals, and lateral jaws to intei-lock with and project beyond the terminals of the nose.

2. A garment-fastening comprising an eye having attaching-loops and an upturned nose, and a hook having attaching-loops, nose-engaging bills provided with connected upturned terminals, and lateral jaws to interlock with and project beyond the terminals of the nose.

3. A garment-fastener comprising an eye having attaching-loops and a straight upturned nose provided With bent terminals, a hook having attaching-loops, lateral shoulders, underturned upward-curved bills to en gage the nose, and lateral jaws tointerlock with and project beyond the terminals of the nose.

4. A garment-fastener comprising an eye having attaching-loops and a straight upturned nose provided with bent terminals,and a hook having underturned bills to engage the nose and lateral jaws to interlock with and project beyond the terminals of said nose, the inner members of the bills being bent upon themselves to constitute loops and thence carried to the rear of the hook and formed into an attaching-loop.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH W. EDGERTON.

Witnesses:

J. E. MONCRIEF, E. J. IIALCH. 

